


Castiel

by Skiatha



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angels, Before Lucifer's Fall, Before Supernatural, Castiel-centric, Gen, Heaven, POV Castiel, castiel's history
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-09-29
Packaged: 2018-04-22 23:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4854902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skiatha/pseuds/Skiatha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where was Castiel before Supernatural began? He saw everything- Earth's creation, Lucifer's fall, Man's doom...but those and much, much more were never shown. This is the untold version of Castiel, from the beginning, through his eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been posted on fanfiction.net by myself as well, just to clarify that I did NOT steal this. The title picture was also made and drawn by me.

You know, I've been here for a very long time. And I remember many things. I remember being at a shoreline, watching a little gray fish heave itself up on the beach, and an older brother saying, "Don't step on that fish, Castiel. Big plans for that fish." I remember the Tower of Babel, all 37 feet of it, which I suppose was impressive at the time. And when it fell, they howled “divine wrath”. But come on, dried dung can only be stacked so high. 

I remember Cain and Abel. David and Goliath. Sodom and Gomorrah. And of course, I remember the most remarkable event - remarkable because it never came to pass. It was averted by two boys, an old drunk, and a fallen angel. The grand story. And we ripped up the ending, and the rules, and destiny, leaving nothing but freedom and choice. Which is all well and good, except... well, what if I've made the wrong choice? How am I supposed to know? But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you my story. Let me tell you everything. 

I guess I should start from the beginning, then.

My name is Castiel, and I’m an angel of the Lord. I was created in…well, it was before you humans had come up with a time-keeping system. Long before. The first thing I remember- and I remember everything- on the occasion of my creation was seeing this brilliant, white light. Shortly after, I became aware of the faces of my siblings, all upturned in awe at the luminance. I was one of countless brothers and sisters, and we all bathed in the glow of our beloved Father. He took care of us, and we flocked behind him like sheep. I looked up to Him, as did we all, and joyfully followed his commands with unquestioning loyalty. I never saw His face myself- that was strictly limited to the Archangels- but I was happy. We all were, in our never-ending pocket of paradise, Heaven. It was everything we knew, everything we wanted… 

Until things began changing. Heaven was not enough. There were whispers from among the Arches that Father was planning something. Something called “Man”.

And somehow, deep inside, I knew that from then on things will never be the same.


	2. Genesis

**Genesis**

Before I begin, you must first understand that before an angel obtains a suitable human vessel, he or she is, basically, a multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent. But this is in the beginning, before the idea of humans, of Earth, was even conceived. We existed as beings of pure energy; beautiful, powerful, perfect only under our Father. We spoke entirely in Enochian, the language before all languages, unintelligible and even deadly to a typical human.

However, to simplify things, I’ll translate our language to the best of my abilities, as well as give my race a more corporeal visage, for you to better understand what I am about to tell you… 

It began with darkness. I felt myself, from threads of pure energy, being spontaneously woven together. Given awareness. Given a will. And then, there was voice.

_He who reigns, always and forever,_

It was in my head; teaching, commanding, bestowing me with unimaginable knowledge... 

_Calls unto you to arise and abide by the Righteous One,_

I knew my duties and my place,

_And remain with Him until the end._

My charge and my destiny…

_Because you, celestial being, have been created to be an angel of the Lord..._

But who am I?

I don’t know how long I floated in that place of nothingness, with the voice unceasingly programming my very being, but I awoke to find myself bathed in light. I was a bit dazed, at first, lying on something springy and soft, with my face upturned to the sky. Though, it wasn’t exactly that. There’s no such thing as a “sky” in Heaven, at least not one fixed in place. It was more like a vast, bright space that spread above me, and it seemed to be emanating from a figure that was too far above me to discern. But I knew what- who- that was. It was my Father and Creator, our Lord and our God.

I take my gaze away from the light, looking around me and seeing my own kind, all gazing with equal admiration at Him. We were gathered in a field that spread as far as I could see, and there wasn’t a single corner where the light didn’t touch. We were all silent, at first, awed by our very existence, and by the one who created us, until suddenly there was a thunderous shout of joy from somewhere down the plain. It was caught on by the rest of us, and the roar grew and grew until it rippled across the expanse, thousands of hearts lifted in unison through one cry. I guess that was how the whole concept of angels singing began, if you count a bunch of them yelling as loud as they can as singing.

The chorus of voices dies out almost as soon as it had began, falling into a hushed silence as another voice, then joined by three others, says something from high above. We all look up, trying to see through the light at the four figures as they descend, power emanating from them as each of their eight wings flare out behind them in golden light. One of them, the eldest, speaks with more authority than the other three. His voice could be compared to that of thunder, or a waterfall, or both at once as it washed over us. We all knew who that angel was, and the other three as well, as they land in the middle of the circle cleared by us. We know because the voice, which had inscribed the words into our heads, said so. 

He was Michael, the First Archangel, who was at Father’s side as they banished the Darkness. The beloved first-born.

Then there was Lucifer, the Fallen One, who would bring all of Father’s plans crashing down, causing Him to desert us. The one who would violate the purity of the Garden and doom Man. The one-

I’m getting ahead of myself again. This was Lucifer before he rebelled against Father and waged war against Heaven, when he was just as good and pure as the rest of us.  
Next there was Raphael and Gabriel, the last Archangels to be created. Together, they were the only four ever to have seen God, and were most like Him.

“ **Our Father’s greetings to you all. Listen well, for these are His words to you,** ” intone Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, and Gabriel in unison,” **Welcome, my children, to the pastures of the Lord. You, the Heavenly Host, have been chosen to walk beside me as my faithful servants. Perform my Word and do my bidding, and you will be blessed for all of eternity.** ”

And so began my existence as an angel.


	3. Genesis- Part 2

Things went by pretty fast from that point on. Contrary to popular belief, angels don’t just stand around all day singing and playing harps. We never do, actually. As part of my job as an angel, I was assigned to reconstruction duty, since the war with the Darkness had left much of Heaven torn apart, and a lot still needed to be completed. So we got to work, oblivious to the passing of time. How long had it passed since I came into being? Days? Years? Hundreds of years? Did it matter? Time in Heaven is a strange thing- the notion of it is very different from that on Earth, since neither night nor day exists here. 

While we worked away patching up Heaven, Father stayed up there, planning and creating. What he was preparing, we did not know. Every once in a while Michael, or Lucifer, or another of the Arches would come down to relay a message to one of us, who would then pass it on to the rest of us. In that way, a crude hierarchical structure was formed among our ranks. We were gradually organized into Garrisons, each led by a Seraph. They were really a sight to behold, if you humans could see them in their true forms. Six wings sprouted from their backs, with four faces in the form of a variety of different beasts. When one head talked, all three of them spoke. Sometimes I wondered what would happen if the heads got into an argument with each other. 

Anael was the head, well, _heads_ of my Garrison, which consisted of about 50 or so brothers and sisters. I still remember the names of every single one. I would list them all out, but they will be mentioned some way or the other later on. For now, I’ll describe Anael the best I can.

Anael, Anna being her human name, was what you could call a bit different from the others. She was from the start, and sometimes a distant look would drift over her features. I think she was bored, if such a word existed then. Bored of Heaven, of the blankness and silence that we angels were so accustomed to. Sometimes she’d pause suddenly, just to look around at us, the shadow of a frown over her features. She never asked too much from us, never rose her voice even if she had four heads that were capable of shattering the ears of a whole stadium full of humans. I grew on her, I think, and she favored me slightly more than the rest. Sometimes, between construction periods, the two of us could be found off to the side. Just sitting and talking. Balthazar, perhaps the most outspoken one in our Garrison, always teased me about it, saying,

“Look at you two, all snuggled up together. I really must congratulate you, Cas.”

I never did understand what he was congratulating me on. 

After the construction of Heaven was completed, we all wondered what to do next. We’d built up so many cities from the ground, but none of them were inhabited. Angels have no need for a shelter, as we don’t sleep or eat, but we didn’t question what we were ordered to do. So we just wandered through the empty cities, and waited and looked upwards in hope that Father will soon send one of his Archangels to give us directions. We lived to serve Him. Doing his Word was our food and sustenance. Without it we were nothing.  
Finally, the day came, though none of us expected what would happen next. Lucifer appeared in a gust of wind, landing in our midst. Quickly, we all stood, waiting to receive revelations. Instead, Lucifer, who was smiling so brightly that we couldn’t help but grin along, declared,

“ **Brothers and sisters, I bring warm regards from Father! Rejoice, for He has just announced to us of an upcoming creation- one that He invites you all to come witness. It will be called ‘Earth’, and it will be a second paradise, a second Heaven.** ” 

Many of us didn’t comprehend this concept. Why have another Heaven on this “Earth”, when we already had more than enough space here? We were all silent for a long while, trying to grasp what Lucifer had told us. I glanced at Anael, who was standing beside me. Instead of seeing the confusion that everyone else wore, I saw hope. It was an unexpected thing to see, and it surprised me. Why was she hopeful? I just didn’t understand.

Lucifer left after this message, leaving us to ponder about this news by ourselves. Before he ascended, though, his eyes had paused to linger on us. I repeatedly have to tell myself that he was good back then, or my mind will twist the truth - the truth that Lucifer had given us a look of infinite love. It had shone from his eyes and spilled out through his expression, filling us with emotions that we rarely allowed ourselves to feel. 

Bliss…

Joy... 

Affection…

For years after I would recall that look, and imagine that if Father Himself had smiled down on us, that was what He would look like. It’s no wonder why Lucifer was His favorite. 

An indefinite amount of time passes, until one moment we hear this sound in our ears. It’s hard to explain, but could be comparable to a loud “PING”, with its vibrations carrying on for a long time after. I glance around, my siblings all pausing and doing the same, unsure of what was happening. But it was something big. Shortly after, a thunderous rumble shook the ground beneath us and sent shock waves through the air. It took me a while to realize where it was coming from. It came from Father, high up above where light now swirled, forming and reforming in bursts of brilliant, sizzling power. 

The creation of Earth had begun.


	4. Genesis- Part 3

_Now the Earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light._

We watched as the brightness swirled and mixed with the darkness. Then like a cell splitting in two, it divided in a flash of celestial energy, creating day and night. Thus passed the first day. 

_And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so._

We watched as the water lifted away from the space, becoming a spherical shape as it swirled beneath an expanse- the “sky”. Thus passed the second day.

_And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so._

We watched as huge structures- mountains and hills, all young and barren- rose out from the retreating waters, marking the land and the sea. And Father saw that it was good. Thus passed the third day.

In the proceeding days and nights, we witnessed the creation of life as they teemed in this new world. Giant reptiles roamed the land, while huge fish kept dominion over the waters. Plant life, too numerous to count, flourished under the newborn Sun, while night unveiled a sky filled with stars. During my time stationed on Earth, I would often look up into the inky blackness, my eyes lost in those multitudes of tiny flickering lights. 

And God blessed it all, seeing that it was good. 

Of course, at first we didn’t understand any of this- angels were simply programmed to think in a way that denied change. To us, I included, such a drastic change took a long time to accept and become accustomed to. We’re kind of like a wind-up toy – we can only do one fixed thing, following the set of rules that we were made knowing. Though, since Father loved His new creation, we were to as well. So we did, albeit hesitantly at first. 

We were sent down to this Second Heaven in our spiritual forms, observing the life there without interacting with it in any way. Some of us, the braver ones such as Anael, went first, awed at the strange beasts and creatures that roamed freely. Their activities were deeply perplexing to me, such as when all of the sudden they dropped dead, or when they slept or ate or defecated. Especially, I didn’t understand why the males of many species enjoyed copulating with the females. They even fought each other for the right to do so. Often, just to clear my head of the chaos, I would go wandering through the quieter places on Earth. My favorite destinations were the tops of mountains, where you could see in every direction for miles, with a thick cloud cover swirling past below and the moon and stars above so bright that I almost thought I could touch them. Though, I have gone to the moon once or twice, and it basically is a lump of rock in space, and it felt as such. 

On one of my wanderings, countless cycles of the Sun and Moon later, I found myself standing at the shore of an unnamed ocean. Just…waiting. For what, I didn’t know, but something had drawn me there. So I stood, the tide singing to me, eerie and strange, while some large flying creatures screeched over the wind above me. A storm was churning far out over the water, and I could make out the occasional flash of lightning through the dark curtain of rain. As the thunder boomed in the distance, sounding like the voice of one of the Archangels, there was a strange flopping noise, different from the rhythmic sound of the waves. I look down to see this little gray fish, so insignificant and small compared to the raging ocean around it. It was struggling as it heaved itself out of the water. I could see that it was exhausted, its mouth opening and closing as it gulped for air, fins sloshing back and forth in an effort to move itself. As I stood there, observing it, there was the sound of wings beside me. 

“ **Don’t step on that fish, brother** ,” I turn to see who it is. It’s Gabriel, gaze fixed on the creature. He is smiling; he always was, as if life was one big joke and only he knew the answer to it. Quickly, I bow my head in acknowledgment, 

“Archangel Gabriel, I-”

“ **Oh please, cut the formalities. It’s Castiel, isn’t it?** ” His eyes turn to me, and I feel the weight of knowledge and power, so much older and stronger than mine, fall on me. If I had it, you could say that my breath was knocked out of me. I can only nod, which was enough for him, because he turns back to studying the little fish. By now, it had fully submerged itself, fins flailing in a rather pathetic motion as it moved in place. Gabriel must have known what I was thinking, saying,

“ **Don’t think so lowly of it. We have big plans for this fish, Cas, big plans,** ” We don’t speak after that, watching as it slowly drags itself across the wet sand and finally disappearing into the tall, springy plants that border the shoreline. By now, the storm has arrived, the sea roaring as mountainous waves crash along the cliffs to our right, lightning flashing above us in bursts of blinding light. I turn to Gabriel, to ask what he meant when he said “big plans”, but he was already gone. I cast one last look at where the land-fish went before leaving as well. 

I would soon find the answer to my question.


	5. Exodus

**Exodus**

Evolution. It’s such a simple concept, one based on chance and chaos. Void of the presence of an all-powerful being. In most ways, Earth did mature in that fashion. 

That is, unless Father didn’t choose to step in. 

We watched as a millennia passed; then two, then three. The giant reptiles gradually withered away, their bones buried by the earth. In their wake followed small furry creatures that, slowly but surely, proliferated throughout the land. We didn’t take particular interest in them. They died even more easily than the dinosaurs did, and most were so tiny that they were barely taken into notice. However, Father did. 

We all thought that He was done creating, and that the conception of Earth had taken a far too heavy toll on him. He even had to rest on the last day. God doesn’t just get tired. So when the PING was heard again, loud and clear, and the rumbling began anew, we were caught off guard. None of the Arches had visited us for years, leaving dead silence among the angels. Though, there had been whispers of one, final creation. His last great handiwork. We all expected it to be another chunk of rock in space, filled with bizarre creatures, but once again we were caught off guard. 

God created Man. 

He made this strange, hairless creature different from the rest. Otherwise, this new ‘Man’ would have been nothing more than a naked ape, descended from the same little gray fish that I witnessed many years before. Father gave Man awareness, something that up to that point only we angels possessed. For some reason that I still don’t understand today, He left out some of that awareness. The ability to tell right from wrong. Later, when I had a chance to closer observe man, I also saw that they lacked a Grace. They were mortal, just like the rest of the creatures that dwelled on Earth. 

Next, Father planted a Garden in the east, which grew up from the ground into a great forest of trees in a matter of days. It was truly magnificent, with each and every plant bearing some kind of fruit, bright and ripe and pleasing to the eyes. 

And He called it Eden.

The largest of the trees surrounded the oasis, forming a natural shield from the desert beyond. In the middle of the garden sat two trees in their prime, glowing with energy. The first one, the Tree of Knowledge, held the power to open Man’s eyes and give them full awareness. To be like us. The second one, the Tree of Life, was filled with enough Grace to elevate any being nearly to the ranks of an Archangel. The fruits of both trees glistened with dew, each containing a fraction of the trees’ power. Finally, He placed four rivers to let flow their waters throughout the Garden, sustaining life.

We all watched with a hint of restrained jealousy as these preparations were made for this new race, this…hairless ape. But I didn’t know then. I didn’t realize what man was capable of doing. Of feeling. Of creating with their bare hands like gods.  
The first man was named Adam, and the first woman Eve. Father made many more humans, but they were never mentioned in history, their names long lost in the ebb and flow of time. They spent their days in utter bliss, tending to the Garden of their Father with childish glee. It disgusted many angels, and I have to admit that I was a bit disturbed as well. After all, we were his cherished children, his most beloved creations. We were perfect, powerful, immortal, while humans were anything but. So when Father called down to us one day, asking us to bow down to them, there was nothing short of an outrage. He called them his greatest creations, commanding us to show more love to them than to Him. 

As soon as those words were uttered, I knew that everything was going to be different. No longer were we, celestial beings, angels of the Lord, regarded as favorable in His eyes. But I bit back my remorse. 

I lowered myself to my knees… 

Because I knew my duties and my place,

I put myself below the humans…

Because I knew my new charge and my destiny.

I was a good soldier…

Was I? Or was I too cowardly, too weak to say otherwise like Lucifer did?


	6. Exodus- Part 2

We all knew that there was trouble from above. We heard it from the constant rumbling, like a brewing storm, shortly after we all bowed before Man. The voices of the Archangels thundered and roared as they quarreled before Father, and all we could do was listen on. 

“ **Father** ,” spoke Lucifer, voice gentle, “ **I love You more than anything in creation. I will serve You to the end of time, but I…I cannot bow to these humans.** ”

“ **You will do as Father commands** ,” Michael said, voice strained, as he had already repeated this many times.

“ **But Man is tainted and flawed. Mortal. I can see evil in all their hearts, dormant as it is,** ” replied Lucifer, in his silver-tongued way.

“ **And you do not think that I can see it in you?** ” resonated Father, and there was a shocked murmur among the angels below. 

“ **My devotion to you overcomes all,** ” says Lucifer unwaveringly, but we could all tell how much Father’s words stung him. 

“ **Then prove your devotion to me, Morning Star, and vow to serve Man as you served Me,** ” We all knew that from His tone, He was done with this discussion. Lucifer knew as well, but whether it was from his own pride, or his hatred of Man, or a reason far darker that he turned to Michael, pleading,

“ **Will you stand with me, brother?** ” There was no reply. He turned to Gabriel, then Raphael, then to all of us gathered below, “ **Who will stand with me? Who refuses to lower themselves and become as worthless as the dirt under Man’s feet? Who loves Father more than they love these hairless apes?** ” 

As soon as Lucifer uttered the last word there was a great BOOM, energy crackling forth across the bright expanse above us. We shrank away, for never had we seen such anger or conflict among the angels. For a second, I thought that the whole sky had fallen down on us. But it was Lucifer, eight wings spread out behind him, light pouring from him as he hit the ground in our midst. We scattered, but didn’t go far as we watched him get back to his feet, with such a look of grief in his eyes that I was stopped in my tracks. He was suddenly struck down again as Michael landed upon him, full of righteous fury. 

“ **Stand down, Lucifer,** ” he said, towering over us all, “Father still loves you. Don’t believe that because He created Man, He’ll forget you.”

“ **He already has. I know Him better than you. I can never know or love Man as much as He!** ” cried Lucifer, not making a move to rise, but looking Michael in the eye as he says, “ **I will not stand down. I’m sorry, Michael.** ” 

I’m not sure who made the first move. Everything happened so fast. The next moment, Heaven was tossed into chaos. Both Lucifer and Michael had drawn their swords and were clashing, the sound of their blades reverberating through the air. Many of us fled. Some stayed behind to fight or try to stop the fight. Others were too afraid to move. I looked up at Father, hoping for some hint of what to do, but He had turned His back. 

This wouldn’t be the first time, or the last, that He would abandon us.

The battle went on for a very long time. I…I’m not sure how long it lasted, as I had fled to Earth with some of the others to avoid this war. Without guidance from Father or any of the Archangels- Gabriel had disappeared, and Raphael had sided with Michael- we were wandering sheep. But down on Earth, it was relatively quiet. I found some members from my Garrison- Balthazar, Inias, Amrael, Raguel, and Uriel. Together we watched Heaven as it was slowly torn apart, the cities we spent centuries building blown to dust. Angels that at first had tried to stop the fighting had now sided with either Michael or Lucifer. Many died, their piercing cries of agony heard by every single one of us. Meanwhile, the humans were still cocooned in their paradise, unaware of the war fought because of them. For them. Because of them. A powerful warding spell had been placed around the Garden by Father, denying all angels entrance. 

“Another sign of His distrust towards us,” Uriel, the one with second thoughts about fleeing Heaven, had muttered, though he was quickly hushed by the others. 

The tide of the war, from the beginning, was in Michael’s favor. Two archangels, seasoned with fighting experience against the Darkness, could easily defeat a whole legion of angels and Seraphim. But Lucifer was crafty. He found two of his most trusted angels, ones who had sided with him since the beginning, and gave them great power and knowledge. 

One was an angel named Lilith. The other was a Seraph, Abaddon. If I had known what crimes against creation those two would commit, perhaps I would have done something…But it’s in the past now. Nothing I did would have changed that.

With those two by his side, Lucifer seemed to be gaining the upper hand. It was the final battle, the final clash. Raphael had been injured when Lilith and Abaddon ambushed him, leaving Michael and Lucifer circling each other, alone on the battlefield. 

“ **Please, big brother, you don’t have to do this!** ” said Lucifer, his tone still filled with sadness and pity. As if none of this mess was his fault. 

“ **You disobeyed Father. I tried to warn you, Lucifer, but you've gone too far. I have no choice** ,” replied Michael’s voice, solemn and tired. 

“ **We were created having a choice. Why did Father give us this ability, if not to mock us with it?** ”

“ **Father has His reasons. Don’t question them-** ”

“ **I’ve tried doing that. I’ve tried to keep my mouth shut for so long and be a good little son. You think that this is the best you’ll get, but I can give you so much more. I can give you freedom, Michael. We can still walk from here, side by side, and together we can be our own _gods_ …**”

“ **HOW DARE YOU!** ” Michael roared. We could see thunderclouds gathering above us, dark and churning. This was it. This was the last battle, and we would all be destroyed… 

It was then that Father chose to intervene. 

There was a flash of blinding light from above the clouds. As we saw the shape fall, glowing like a dying star, we heard Father’s voice boom like thunder,

“ **Lucifer. You dared to wage war against your Lord, so filled with hatred were you for My creation. The gates of Heaven have been sealed from you. I now declare you banished from Heaven.** ”

There was one, final CRASH that shook the earth as Lucifer, the Morning Star, was cast out by Father’s hand. Then there was silence.

As if it were some last act of mercy, before he fell Lucifer was able to take Lilith and Abaddon’s Graces, dooming them to the life of a mortal human. Father would not dare hurt or kill a human then, as they were sinless and pure, so He allowed them to live out their lives on Earth without any recollection of their angelic backgrounds. It was a terrible mistake - one Lucifer would take full advantage of.


	7. Testaments

**Testaments**

As you can tell, in the first two chapters of my life- a billion or so years- I didn’t particularly…impact the course of history. None of us really did, and that’s just the thing with angels. In Heaven, heroes aren’t made- they’re born. Unless you count the fact that all angels _were_ made…But I’m speaking figuratively here. In other words, we were programmed to follow, to be obedient soldiers while the Seraphs were given slightly more freedom to command their Garrisons under the eyes of the Archangels. 

Humans, on the other hand, were a different story. No one knew who was to lead them in this hostile new world. It was utter chaos the moment they were turned out of Eden and into the barren landscape beyond. The humans were brutal to each other, driven by instinctive urges such as hunger as they fought for what food they could find. It stunned me, seeing what the forbidden fruit had done to them. It had given them far too much knowledge, and they were paying the price.

All the while, Father grew more and more reclusive.

Eventually, tribes were formed and scattered throughout the land. Man coaxed what crops they could from the ground, and hunted what game there was. Meanwhile, abominations such as the monstrous creations of Eve, and the Nephilim, the spawn of humans and angels, corrupted the once-pure sanctity of Earth. Also, though Lucifer was locked away deep in the pit, demons continued to spread like a disease. Through all this, many had forgotten about God, turning to the worship of countless man-eating pagan gods for favors. But there were those who still had faith. 

Such was the story of Cain and Abel, the two brothers, sons of Adam and Eve. And I saw it all.

My Garrison was assigned to be stationed on Earth to watch the affairs of Man for a few thousand years. Frankly, it became pretty monotonous after a while. Humans really only have a certain number of things they do or like to do, which follows the daily routine of sleeping, working, eating, defecating, a lot of copulating, and even more fighting. It greatly confused all of us, and Anael would often discuss these strange human activities with me. We spent much time wondering about things such as,

“Why do they eat if it just comes back out again?”

“Is something wrong with that one? There’s water leaking from his eyes.”

“Do they find it pleasing to show each other their teeth?” 

“Why do they stick their mouths together like that? Are they trying to _eat_ one another?”

Humans also had practical activities too, of course, such as the inventing the wheel to aid them in transporting their loads, domesticating animals for food, and also the discovery of fire by a man named Prometheus. All these were seen by me, until one day, by chance I came upon the two brothers. They were unremarkable, to say the least, living a few miles away from the nearest tribe and keeping to themselves. But they were direct descendants- perhaps even the first descendants, if you don’t include Eve’s monstrosities- of the first man and woman, and they were deeply devout.

Cain was the elder brother, and Abel was the younger. From a glance I saw the potential within in them. They were strong; yes, strong enough to be powerful vessels. The concept of a vessel was new to all of us. Only a few brothers and sisters had already found theirs, while the true vessels of all the rest of us had not yet been born. Those with vessels would often come and tell us about the experiences, but I didn’t see how interesting it was to confine myself into someone else’s skin. And then there were always those awkward questions when someone recognizes your vessel. 

So I stood there, cloaked in my spiritual visage, watching as Abel tended to the flock and as Cain harvested the crops in the noonday sun. It was a rather mundane scene, and I was just about to leave when I caught sight of Cain as he fell to his knees. His basket tumbled to the ground and he seemed to be having some kind of fit, hands over his ears as he listened to something only he could hear. But I knew what it was. 

An angel was speaking to him. 

We were forbidden to make any contact with humans without an Archangel’s permission, as our voice could kill the recipient of the message if they were not one of the chosen. I came closer, listening to the man as he spoke to the air through clenched teeth,

“No, no, you _can’t_! Don’t! Don’t take him, please…..I’ll do it, just don’t…Yes…Yes…If you swear…Okay,” The convulsions abruptly stopped, and Cain drew out a long breath as he lay on the ground. Water flowed from his eyes – tears, which I was just beginning to understand was a result of sorrow. I knew that I had to go report this to Anael. Right away. Some angel had spoken to him, and I felt a sense of dread as it dawned on me who it might have been. But something kept me from leaving, and I could only watch on with a horrified fascination as the man mechanically dug up an old jawbone from the dirt and walked to where his brother was. 

Then he beat Abel to death.

He didn’t stop when Abel was dead, either. He just…kept on going, pounding that jawbone into the corpse over and over again. I backed away, the act forever seared into my mind and utter revulsion swirling inside me.

Suddenly, Cain paused, hand clutching the bloody bone as he rose his head to look directly at me. 

His eyes were pitch black, and inside them I saw Lucifer, smiling triumphantly.


End file.
